Accident Causes
According to the National Safety Council, there were close to 5,000 deaths that were the result of large truck accidents in the United States in the last year data was reported. Accidents involving large trucks lead to horrific accidents and injuries as well as deaths, particularly to smaller vehicles and their drivers and passengers. Automobile accidents are on the rise as well with more people driving and traveling the highways.
There are several factors that can lead to an accident, but the majority find that exhaustion is one of the leading causes of auto and truck accidents. Truck drivers who drive for extended periods of time can get tired causing the driver’s awareness and reaction time to dwindle. This can cause serious accidents. Federal regulations regulate the number of hours an interstate truck driver can drive on the road. The reason the regulations are in place is to prevent truck drivers from driving a truck while they are tired.
Truck drivers have logbooks that they are required to keep that track of how many hours they have driven and can drive each day. Today logbooks are kept electronically by plugging into the engine of the truck to track how many hours a driver has driven. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) implements the following for truck drivers:
- Drivers can operate their trucks for a period of 14 hours each day, but only after they have been off for 10 hours or more in a row.
- Drivers can only drive or operate their trucks for 11 of the 14 hours, while the other 3 hours must consist of breaks and mealtimes.
- If a driver operates their truck for more than eight uninterrupted hours, they are required to take a 30-minute break.
- A driver can operate their truck for 60 complete hours during a seven-day work week
- A driver can operate their truck for 70 complete hours during an eight-day work week
If a truck driver is in an accident, their logbook will show if the driver was at fault for an accident by being overly tired. This can be subpoenaed by the attorney of the injured party.
This is common in auto and truck accidents. When you are overly tired, you cannot focus and/or concentrate which in turn can lead to an accident. The difference from auto and truck accidents is that large truck accidents tend to cause more damage as they are extremely larger in size. A truck’s size and the damage that size can do is what differs between truck accidents from other auto accidents.
Who Is Liable For An Accident?
As with any accident, most people will think that the driver themselves would be liable for the accident since they were the ones driving during the accident. However, that is not always the case with trucks. The trucking company that employs the driver can also be held liable even though the driver caused the accident. This means that as long as the driver was performing the duties related directly to his/her job, the liability would then fall to the trucking company.
The trucking company can also be held reliable if the company failed to regularly inspect or maintain each truck. The company can also be held liable for the following:
- Not following an adequate hiring process
- Allowing drivers to overload the trucks
- Allowing drivers to drive for over the allotted hours
- Not properly training their driver
It is important to have an attorney assist you in determining who is liable during auto and truck accidents. This will aid in determining who is responsible for paying for damages and personal injury claims.
How Attorney Eric Kassor Protects Your Rights?
The Law Office of Eric Kassor is a small firm in Raleigh, North Carolina. Attorney Eric has established a reputation as an accident attorney of choice. The staff at Attorney Eric’s firm develops relationships with each client and works endlessly to succeed in reaching the outcome each client deserves and obtain the compensation each client needs to make a full recovery.
Attorney Eric offers free consultations for accident victims and will even make hospital and home visits if the need arises. If you are in the Raleigh, North Carolina area and have suffered an injury due to a truck or auto accident, reach out to attorney Eric Kassor who will advocate for you.
